Chapter Text
She had made a habit of reading most (if not all) of them every night.
Her phone memory is almost full because of them (all the unsent text messages she’d wrote for Adrien, that is), always piling up from the very first day she’d put her hands on his private number. Some of them were only three words long, her infatuation very obvious in each and every letter, but some were longer, more complex, explaining in each painful detail how much she actually loved him.
And even after they had their mutual particular disclosure, even when Chat Noir’s mask melted away to leave behind a very much surprised Adrien Agreste and the same happened with Ladybug (with Marinette), she couldn’t bring herself to feel amazed to be still writing to him in secret.
She had also fallen in love with Chat Noir, in the end.
It had been a month or so since the secret had slipped away from their grasp, and the only difference if she were to bravely send her shameless confessions is that Adrien would actually have her number now, since they’ve been exchanging a few text messages since then – because relationship-wise, everything was pretty much the same. Admittedly, Marinette got a little flustered each time his ID popped up, excided texts and greetings making even her rougher days a lot easier. But even after all that, their dynamic as the superhero duo didn’t change all that much - fortunately.
Still, it was really embarrassing to have reached the count of 63 unsent texts.
But she kept reading them. Every night.
So perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise when Marinette actually sends them by accident.
All of them.
Every single one of them.
She’s lying down on her bed, already comfortably tucked under the blankets and her phone in her hands in the exact moment her stupidity leads to the irreversible, worst possible mistake she could’ve ever made.
Her eyes grow comically wide and her stomach drops, mouth parting in shock.
“Oh, no,” and her voice is barely a whisper.
Marinette isn’t certain of how much time she actually spends there, frozen in place to what seems to be forever as she actually considers transforming into Ladybug, breaking into the Agreste mansion only to steal Adrien’s phone again.
Although for a much more reasonable cause, this time.
‘Sweet mother of Jesus, I’m boned. I’m so God damn boned—’
But then, positivist girl she is, Marinette starts thinking Adrien might have just lost his phone somewhere. Or maybe it’s uncharged. Or maybe it was stolen. Maybe he miraculously lost his sight for a day and won’t be able to check his text messages until Marinette actually has the chance to delete all proof to the last bit. Maybe he—
*RING*
Her eyes snap open again only to find out that yes, her phone is in fact ringing in the middle of the night and yes, the person who’s calling her is pretty much the last living being on Earth she wants to talk to right know; his ID has never been so intimidating and nerve-wrecking before.
Adrien Agreste, it read.
Marinette breathes in deeply once, twice, using all of her willpower not to get up from the bed and buy a one-way ticket to China or something like that. Her phone rings and rings and rings, until it doesn’t. The girl holds her breath, and then the second worst thing of the night happens.
It starts ringing again.
This is not how she wanted to tell him about her feelings – in fact, she didn’t want to tell him at all, especially after she discovered he was Chat Noir. Because it could change things, important things. Plus, she was sure Adrien didn’t see Ladybug in that way anymore – Marinette can only guess how disappointing the discovery of her identity might have been for him, and she’s definitely not ready to face the consequences of her accidental actions.
But he doesn’t seem to care.
With trembling hands, the girl sweeps her index finger across the screen of her phone and picks up the call, her immensely emotionally-constricted and stress-filled body forcing her to jump off the bed and walk down the stairs as she does so, because if she doesn’t move around she’ll most likely explode.
Marinette brings the phone close to her ear, swallowing her fear.
“A-Adrien…?” she prompts, voice cracking.
“Is it true?”
He sounds resolute, accusatory, fearful and a whole set of different things she can’t quite put a finger on because her mind goes positively blank and crap, this wasn’t supposed to happen!
“I-I’m—”
“By the number of messages, I’m guessing you didn’t plan on sending them, but— Just, just tell me,” Adrien interrupts her, a heavy sigh making a unnerving noise against the phone. “Is it true?”
She licks her lips, the ache in her head and body and soul far too great to weigh the pros and cons of the answers she can possibly give him. Marinette is sure her brain is spinning inside her skull and so, in the end, she doesn’t think twice.
“Yes.”
He’s silent for what it seems a small eternity before Marinette hears a shuddering breath coming on his end.
‘He must be disgusted and he probably hates me and I should’ve deleted all of those stupid texts when I had the chance and—’
“Adrien, I—”
And then, he hangs up.
She lets a broken, desperate gasp when the line goes dead, quickly raising a hand to slap against her mouth. Marinette wilts to the floor, crouching down in an excruciating and sudden emotional pain. The tears blur her vision and she can feel Tikki’s tiny voice whispering an encouraging speech as a sob escape her lips. The girl sinks further into herself, and for a quiet moment, it’s like her world is over.
… Until she hears a knock against the hatch on her room’s ceiling.
Marinette blinks, her confusion momentarily greater than her hurt until the square of wood snaps open and Chat Noir’s head pops inside her room.
She wants to scream.
But she starts to babble nonsense instead, his name tripping on the tip of her tongue as she tries to spill a coherent apology. Before she manages to do so, however, her room is filled with a flash of bright green and the boy – not the superhero - jumps to the floor she is in and quickly wraps his arms around her shoulders, sinking his face against the crook of her neck, his erratic breath teasing her skin.
Marinette shivers, raising her hands hesitantly to ghost against his ribs, “A-Adrien?”
And then, she feels him shifting in place, pressing a quick kiss to the base of her neck that makes her feel as if she were struck by lightning.
“You like me,” he breathes.
She lets out a squeak and squirms under him, feeling herself flush to her neck.
“I-I’m sorry,” it’s her answer.
Adrien tenses and the world falls quiet, but then he places his hands on her shoulders and yanks her back, his very much red face now fully visible to her, a deep frown staining his handsome features.
“Why are you sorry, Marinette?”
His tone is scandalized as much as it is serious, with a light shade of hurt.
She can relate.
“You—” her voice fails, so she tries again, “You probably wished Ladybug to be someone different, someone better. And— I know you don’t feel the same and I don’t want you to feel forced to cope with me—”
And Marinette wants to make things clear - she needs to, in fact.
But he shushes her.
With a kiss.
His hands cup her face a little roughly when he pulls her in, but the touch of his lips against Marinette’s is feathery, gentle, as if engulfed in the fear she might break if he ever wrongs her in any way – but loving, passionate and painfully honest all the same.
She gasps and trembles and sighs deeply through her nose, hesitant hands crawling against his chest until they’re high enough to circle around Adrien’s neck. His reaction mirrors hers and it’s as if he’s falling desperately, helplessly in love again and again and again, hands gripping lightly at her hips to bring her closer because it’s only a mere touch of lips, yes, but it’s intense, it’s merciless.
They’re positively out of breath when Adrien finally breaks the kiss, although their mouths still touch. Marinette stares at him with half-lidded eyes, completely love-struck, mind swirling because God, what just happened.
“You shouldn’t be sorry furr something like that,” the boy presses a quick peck to her lips that just screams love, not being able to control the dumb smile that splashes across his face, “Because I feel the same.”
She lets out a nervous chuckle, then. But Marinette feels giddy and she’s way too happy for her own good and she starts giggling, and it’s out of control because suddenly she’s laughing way too much and her body is light, the overwhelming joy making her toes curl. Adrien peppers her face with gentle kisses until he’s reduced to a laughing mess, as well. And even when their voices die down, they’re still holding each other endearingly.
And they keep doing so – for the rest of the night.